Chrysler US auto sales top expectations

Chrysler Group surprised auto industry analysts with a modest 1 percent increase in U.S. car sales in September.

Chrysler, an affiliate of Italy's Fiat, said it sold 143,017 vehicles, handily beating analysts' expectations.

The U.S. auto industry's sizzling summer sales pace is expected to have stalled last month, for the first year-on-year sales decline in more than two years. There were two fewer shopping days in September, compared with the previous year, and part of the Labor Day shopping weekend fell in August.

Chrysler said its U.S. dealers reported the best September sales since 2007.

Analysts who closely watch the auto industry predict September's annualized sales rate will be in the range of 15.2 million to 15.7 million. The lower end of that range would fall short of summer's torrid pace, including a 16 million rate in August that marked the strongest performance in nearly six years.

Chrysler projected the industry's annualized rate in September at 15.7 million, including about 300,000 heavy trucks.